Books with a Movie Tie-In

Austen, Jane. Pride & Prejudice.

The timeless themes of love and marriage in Jane Austen's superb romantic comedy Pride and Prejudice have captured readers for generations - the novel has sold more than 20 million copies and has never been out of print. Pride and Prejudice is the story of the lively and rebellious Elizabeth Bennet, one of five unmarried daughters living in the countryside of 19th Century England. In a world where obtaining an advantageous marriage is a woman's sole occupation, Elizabeth's independent manner threatens her family's future. Will her romantic sparring with the mysterious and arrogant Darcy end in misfortune - or will love's true nature prevail?

Movies: Pride & Prejudice. This A&E/BBC miniseries is a true masterpiece, bringing Jane Austen's most popular novel to life in a near perfect production. It has everything: authentic Regency Period atmosphere, costumes, settings, a beautiful musical score, excellent performances by a well-chosen cast. Andrew Davis's script does full justice to Austen's original. Colin Firth is excellent as Mr. Darcy, but Jennifer Ehle just takes my breath away with her magnificent performance, which catches every nuance of Elizabeth Bennet's character exactly right in every scene. It is a pleasure to watch all 4 1/2 hours straight through again and again. As a longtime devoted admirer of Jane Austen's works, I am very critical of any movies based upon her novels, but this has to be one of the very best adaptations of any major literary work.

2005 Version: One of the greatest love stories of all time, Pride & Prejudice, comes to the screen in a glorious new adaptation starring Keira Knightley. When Elizabeth Bennett (Knightley) meets the handsome Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), she believes he is the last man on earth she could ever marry. But as their lives become intertwined in an unexpected adventure, she finds herself captivated by the very person she swore to loathe for all eternity. Based on the beloved masterpiece by Jane Austen, it is the classic tale of love and misunderstanding that sparkles with romance, wit and emotional force. Critics are calling it "Exhilarating. A joy from start to finish."

Brashares,Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Delacorte Press, 2001.

Four pregnant women, all due in September, meet in an aerobics class. Their friendship leads to a close bond between their four daughters, even after the mothers grow apart. The four girls are going their separate ways for the first time during the summer that the story covers. Shortly before they depart, one of the girls buys a pair of jeans at a thrift shop. (In the movie, they are all together when the pants are purchased.) Miraculously, the pants fit all four girls. They decide to share the jeans over the summer, thus the "traveling" pants.

Lena, the beautiful one, is going to Greece to spend the summer with her grandparents. In the book, she is accompanied by her younger sister, who is left out entirely in the movie. While in Greece, she falls in love for the first time with a young Greek boy, Kostos. In the book, Kostos is beloved by her family and a misunderstanding when he sees Lena "skinny-dipping" leads to a strain between the two families. In the movie, there is a long-standing feud between the families. But, all ends happily for the two lovers as they part after the summer.

Carmen, the angry one, is going to spend the summer in South Carolina with her father. However, after arriving, she learns that her father has moved in with his fiancée and her two children. Her dad is so busy helping plan the wedding that he has little time to spend with Carmen. She feels very left out in her father's ready-made new family; especially since her mother is Puerto Rican and the bride-to-be and daughter are blonde and petite. Bridget, the soccer star, is going to Baja for a soccer camp. Bridget's mother committed suicide several years ago and her father is distant with her. She is strongly attracted to a one of the college student coaches and makes it her goal to seduce him. When she does, she is very disappointed in the outcome. She realizes she has made a big mistake. The movie changes the intervention of Bridget's friends to when she gets home; but the book has Lena showing up at camp to bring her home. Tibby, the rebel, is stuck in Washington, D.C., working at Wallman's (think Wal-Mart). Her project for the summer is to make a documentary of her horrible summer. When a young girl faints in the store and Tibby goes along with her to the hospital, she gains an assistant. (In the movie, Bailey connects with Tibby when she delivers the pants to her house when they are mistakenly delivered to Bailey's address.) At first, Tibby considers Bailey a pest, but soon realizes that she has a rare insight into people. Perhaps she has this ability because she is dying of cancer. As the summer progresses, the two girls become close in spite of their difference in age.

Movie released in 2005: Although there are differences in the book and the movie, the spirit of the story is the same in both. The girls' problems aren't changed dramatically and their friendship shines through. This series is now in the fourth summer and the second movie is due out next summer.

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. Penguin Classics, 2001.

When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed off the great detective Sherlock Holmes in his short story The Final Problem, there was worldwide mourning. From the very day the story appeared, there were unceasing demands from readers that Doyle return to writing about the character - which he finally did, in his 1902 novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. Cleverly avoiding any commitment to permanently resurrecting Holmes at that time, Doyle called this story a "retrospective" to imply that it took place before the detective's death. Nevertheless, readers eagerly embraced the new novel, based on some legends of the English countryside that a friend had shared with Doyle. The result is a spine-tingling mystery and one of Sherlock Holmes' greatest cases.

Dr. Mortimer, a country physician from Devonshire, calls upon Holmes, one morning in his Baker Street apartments for advice. It seems all male heirs of the Baskerville family are subject to a curse and pursued by a demonic hound as punishment for the wickedness of their ancestor, Sir Hugo Baskerville. Now Sir Charles Baskerville lies dead at the Hall, and close to his body Dr. Mortimer discovered . . . the footprints of a gigantic hound. Worse still, the young heir Sir Henry Baskerville, who has been living in Canada, is now coming to take charge of the property. How can Sir Henry escape the curse of the Baskervilles? Sherlock Holmes is promptly on the case and once he and Dr. John Watson arrive in Devonshire the plot thickens delightfully, with rumors of an escaped murderer wandering the moors at night, the ever-present threat of quicksand in the wilderness of the Great Grimpen Mire, and mysterious lantern signals from the very windows of Baskerville Hall itself, all leading to the heart-stopping moment when the truth behind the legend of the Hound is fully revealed. This novel lends itself especially well to film and there have been several versions, from the classic teamwork of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce to the more recent films starring various actors such as Stewart Granger, Tom Baker, and Jeremy Brett as Holmes. Even readers who know little to nothing of the Sherlock Holmes stories can find themselves entranced by the action-packed, suspenseful plot of this novel and its many cinematic versions. Don't be surprised, while reading, if you hear the distant howling of an enormous hound - and "as you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor."

Movie: Although there are many movie versions of this book, one of the best is the one starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in the 1939 adaptation. This adaptation resulted in one of the most atmospheric and purely enjoyable versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Except for minor changes, the script is true to Doyle's enthralling mystery about a centuries-long curse against heirs to the Baskerville estate, situated within the haunting and deadly Dartmoor in the southwest of England. With the arrival of a new master, Canadian Henry Baskerville (Richard Greene), Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Bruce) are called upon to solve the strange case of the "gigantic hound" that may be readying to savage the poor fellow. Wonderful sets, crisp performances, and Rathbone's accessible but no-nonsense take on the Great Detective make this a real delight. Typical of the 20th Century Fox Holmes pictures, there's an in-joke, a final line of censor-defying dialogue alluding to Holmes's little problem with cocaine.

Hornsby, Nick. About a Boy. Riverhead Books, 1998.

This book was a well written story about a Will Freeman, a 36-year old man who was the eternal boy. Will was a man who refused to grow up. He lived his life accumulating all sorts of expensive stuff to show off a lifestyle he to which he was accustomed. He lived off royalties from a dong his father had written years ago. He was the ultimate bachelor who had no time for anyone but himself, well, until he met 12-year old Marcus. Marcus was a boy who was picked on at school and whose mother suffered from great depression. Somehow, through time, Marcus opened Will up to a different life. Will took Marcus under his wing, while Marcus showed Will than he need not be alone. Marcus's mother and Will became friends and the circle of friendship continued to grow to several close people. All of contributed to Will's transformation from a selfish jerk to a kind, fun-loving man.

Movie: The movie, starting Hugh Grant and others, was very similar to the book. Some dialog was added in the movie for entertainment purposes. Otherwise, the movie moved similarly to the novel - almost in chapters.

Martini, Steve. The Judge. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995.

This novel was a story about a judge who was framed for murder by the local police department. The judge for whom the novel was names was a minority man who rose to his status solely by hard work and determination. He was a strict judge and many resented him. He was close to stumbling onto a police conspiracy. The department tried to frame him to keep his mouth shut. The judge hired an excellent team of lawyers, one of whom was a recently fired assistant district attorney. This team worked hard to uncover all of the facts, and the truth ultimately came out. Good descriptions and the suspense factor made this book a good read. Those who like John Grisham's early works will like Steve Martini's book.

Movie: The movie, titled the same as the book, starred Chris Noth, Lolita Davidovich, and Edward James Olmos. It was a movie created for television, and it was an extremely entertaining account of the book. Some events were altered but the story was close to the plot of the book and well worth watching.

Minot, Sue. Evening. Vintage, 2005.

Evening is unlike anything I've ever read before. The prose is not clear-cut, with ramblings and confusion throughout the entire novel, but once readers get into the flow of the story, this morphine-induced reality-versus-fantasy begins to take shape. Evening tells the story of Ann Lord, a 65-year-old cancer patient on the verge of death. Family and friends take vigil at her bedside, and through the haze and confusion of Ann's heavily sedated mind are many ramblings about unconnected things, short memories that pass through in an instant then quickly dissolve. Only one thing remains sharp in Ann's mind: the weekend she spent at her best friend's wedding and the man she met there with whom she fell in love. Harris Arden was not just a weekend fling, he became the pivotal moment in Ann's life from which love, loss, hope and reality begin. Susan Minot's stunning, eloquent prose writes of a love story between Ann and Harris; a life story involving Ann's three husbands and her five children; and a death story of the final moments of a woman's life and those things that can never be left behind. Choppy at times, confusing at others, but this unique writing style creates an authentic other world where consciousness slips between reality and dreams. Excellent and powerful; a vivid portrayal of the end of a life.

Movie: A drama exploring the romantic past and emotional present of Ann Grant (Vanessa Redgrave) and her daughters, Constance (Redgrave's real life daughter, Natasha Richardson) and Nina (Toni Collette). As Ann lays dying, she remembers, and is moved to convey to her daughters, the defining moments in her life 50 years prior, when she was a young woman. Harris (Patrick Wilson) is the man Ann loves in the 1950s and never forgets. Claire Danes plays the younger Ann Grant; newcomer Mamie Gummer (Meryl Streep's real-life daughter) plays the young Lila, Ann's Best friend, while Meryl streep plays the older Lila. Glenn Close plays Lila's mother. Brilliantly cast and beautifully shot!

Orleans, Susan. The Orchid Thief. Trafalgar Square, 2001.

Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief is an intriguing look at people who are obsessed with collecting orchids. Originally, Ms. Orlean's main focus was to write a profile of John Laroche in The New Yorker magazine. Laroche is an offbeat character who spent a great deal of time and money amassing a huge orchid collection. When Laroche banded together with a group of Seminole Indians to steal orchids from the Fakahatchee Strand, a 63,000-acre preserve in southwest Florida, he was arrested and tried for his crime. Orlean eventually expanded her article on Laroche into this book. She widened the scope of her research and came up with many interesting tidbits about orchids and those who collect them. For example, I learned that orchids often outlive human beings. In fact, orchids can theoretically live forever, since they have no natural enemies. Some orchid owners designate a person as an "orchid heir" in their wills, since the owners expect that their precious orchids will outlive them. Orlean has a delicious sense of wonder, a beautiful and lyrical writing style, and an eye for fascinating details. She has the ability to place the reader in the middle of a swamp, at an orchid show, or on an expedition into the wilds of South America. Not only does Orlean provide the reader with little known facts about orchids, but she also explores some of the oddities of human nature. What causes people to become so passionate about collecting orchids that they risk their fortunes or even their lives to acquire rare species of this coveted plant? When does a passion for collecting orchids become an unhealthy obsession? If you are tired of reading formulaic novels, you may want to join Susan Orlean on her exciting and memorable journey into the world of orchid collecting. You do not have to be a plant lover, a gardener or a botanist to enjoy The Orchid Thief.

Movie: Adaptation. Sony Pictures, 2004. Twisty brilliance from screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze, the team who created Being John Malkovich. Nicolas Cage returns to form with a funny, sad, and sneaky performance as Charlie Kaufman, a self-loathing screenwriter who has been hired to adapt Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief into a screenplay. Frustrated and infatuated by Orlean's elegant but plotless book (which is largely a rumination on flowers), Kaufman begins to write a screenplay about himself trying to write a screenplay about The Orchid Thief, all the while hounded by his twin brother Donald (Cage again), who's cheerfully writing the kind of formulaic action movie that Kaufman finds repugnant. By its conclusion, Adaptation is the most artistically ambitious, most utterly cynical, and most uncategorizable movie ever to come out of Hollywood. Also starring Meryl Streep (as Susan Orlean), Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, and Brian Cox; superb performances throughout.

Perrotta, Tom. Little Children. St. Martin's Griffin, 2005.

The characters in this intelligent, absorbing tale of suburban angst are constrained and defined by their relationship to children. There's Sarah, a feminist who finds herself an unhappy mother and wife to a advertising consultant addicted to Internet porn. There's Todd, a handsome ex-jock and stay-at-home dad known to neighborhood housewives as the Prom King, who finds in house-husbandry and reveries about his teenage glory days a comforting alternative to his wife's demands that he pass the bar and get on with a law career. There's Mary Ann, an uptight supermom who schedules sex with her husband every Tuesday at nine and already has her well-drilled four year-old on the inside track to Harvard. And there's Ronnie, a pedophile whose return from prison throws the school district into an uproar, and his mother, May, who still harbors hopes that her son will turn out well after all. In the midst of this universe of mild to fulminating family dysfunction, Sarah and Todd drift into an affair that recaptures the passion of adolescence, that fleeting liminal period of freedom and possibility between the dutiful rigidities of childhood and parenthood. Perrotta views his characters with a funny, acute and sympathetic eye, using the well-observed antics of preschoolers as a telling backdrop to their parents' botched transitions into adulthood. Once again, he proves himself an expert at exploring the roiling psychological depths beneath the placid surface of suburbia.

Movie: New Line Home Video, 2006. Winslet is magnificent, in an Oscar-nominated performance, as a stroller-pushing mom who becomes attracted to a passive house-husband (Patrick Wilson). Their slow-burning infidelity (Field wisely allows time to pass in this unhurried film) is contrasted with a more sensational subplot, about a convicted pedophile (Jackie Earle Haley, also Oscar nominated) returning to the neighborhood to live with his mother (Phyllis Somerville).

Stover, Matthew. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

In dramatic fashion, Obi-Wan Kenobe and Anakin Skywalker, the galaxy's superhero Jedi tag-team, spring into action to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from the clutches of the evil General Grievous. As the story unfolds Anakin Skywalker, the prophesied chosen one to bring balance to the Force, begins his evil path down the road to the dark side of the Force. Guided by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who is really the evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Anakin makes his decent. In the end several Jedi are killed, the Republic, which stood for peace and democracy in the galaxy is dead, and a new powerful Sith Lord is ordained: Darth Vader. Having exterminated all but a few Jedi, the Sith establish the first Galactic Empire as they seek to rule the galaxy with an iron fist. Filled with action, suspense, love and politics the movie as well as the book of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the perfect bridge that leads to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope which originally made its film debut in 1977.

Takaya, Natsuki. Fruits Basket. Tokyopop, 2001-2007. Fruits Basket (Anime) [United States]: FUNimation Productions, Inc., [2003], c2002.

The Sohma family is cursed; each family member turns into a member of the Chinese zodiac when hugged by the opposite sex. When Tohru Honda, an orphaned girl, stumbles upon the Sohma family secret, she vows to break the curse. With Tohru's sunny disposition, the Sohma's are in for quite a surprise. This is a wonderful manga/anime for young adults and adults and is highly recommended.

Weiner, Jennifer. In Her Shoes. Pocket Books, 2004.

The Feller sisters are equal but opposite. Maggie is the good-looking, dyslexic little sister who knows how to get anything she wants - but not how to keep it. Rose is the plump, practical, responsible older sister who knows about law but not much about her own happiness. When Maggie's latest eviction lands her in Rose's apartment, and Maggie insults Rose by seducing one of her sister's rare boyfriends, what follows is a chain of events by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. Embarrassed Rose evicts Maggie and begins a work sabbatical leading to a new livelihood and way of living. Maggie flees and runs away to Princeton. Masquerading as a student, she learns to love poetry and saves money for a trip to Miami - and a visit to a long-lost grandmother named Ella who might offer her a last shot at sanctuary. But In Her Shoes is about more than the sisters' latest sibling rivalry; Maggie and Rose must sort out the childhood vulnerabilities and family mysteries that still linger two decades after their mother's death. In less capable hands, the plot might grow corny, but Weiner's humor and affection for the characters ultimately helps them transcend both neuroses and grief and learn the redemptive power of love.

Movie: In Her Shoes. 20th Century Fox, 2005.

In Her Shoes just gets better and better as it goes along. As adapted by Erin Brockovich screenwriter Susannah Grant, this is one of those rare movies that actually improves on its source material, with thoughtful direction by Curtis Hanson. At first it seems like Weiner's novel might yield a standard melodrama of sibling rivalry, but the polar opposition of smart, plain-looking Philadelphia lawyer Rose (the always-excellent Toni Collette) and her sexy, illiterate, irresponsible sister Maggie (Cameron Diaz) is just the starting point. In Her Shoes becomes a moving, richly developed character study that deals with painful loss, long-term guilt, negative self-image, and the discovery of a heretofore unknown grandmother named Ella (played with delicate nuance by Shirley MacLaine), whose re-entry into the sisters' lives sets the stage for the well-earned emotions of a satisfying reconciliation. As Maggie takes stock of her dismal life while staying with Ella at a Florida "retirement home for active seniors," Hanson never condescends to these likable characters, and never goes for the easy laughs in a setting that could have devolved into Cocoon-like comedy. The movie's all the more endearing for treating its male characters (played by Mark Feuerstein, Ken Howard, and Richard Burgi) with equal depth and sympathy, further enhancing a classy tearjerker that viewers of both genders can thoroughly enjoy.

Frieberger, Paul and Michael Swaine. Fire in the valley : the making of the personal computer. McGraw-Hill, 2000.

While Silicon Valley was designing the latest generation of digital wristwatches and pocket calculators, a ragtag group of college dropouts, hippies, and electronics hobbyists were busy creating the future in their garages. What they built was the personal computer, but what they were aiming for was something much more ambitious: a revolution. Fire in the Valley is the story of their efforts, and in particular, the contributions of an informal think tank called the Homebrew Computer Club. Its technically gifted community, comprising sci-fi aficionados and Berkeley counter culturists, believed computers could usher in an age of human empowerment, perhaps even a utopia. The club's most famous member is Steve Jobs of Apple, whose story is told here, as is Bill Gates's, who was strongly influenced by Homebrew. What sets Fire in the Valley apart from the many other books about early days at Apple and Microsoft, though, is its focus on the brilliant engineers and coders who built the foundation that would eventually support those two companies. They included ex-Berkley Barb editor and hardware designer Lee Felsenstein, who was adamant about using computers for populist ends; Adam Osborne, who took PCs to the next level by making them portable; hacker legend John "Captain Crunch" Draper, who used telephony for his own mischievous purposes; and activist Ted Nelson, the Thom Paine of the computer revolution.

The cast of characters is sometimes tough to keep track of, and authors Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine have wisely included a graphic timeline in the first pages of the book that readers will find useful. It stretches from 1800 to 1999, encompassing events that have occurred since Fire in the Valley's original 1984 publication. This second edition includes new chapters and photographs to document the last 15 years, but they serve as more of an epilogue than a new act in this drama. The Homebrew Club's mark on personal computing history is cemented, and Fire in the Valley is an engaging account of it, one that should inspire readers everywhere.

Movie: Pirates of Silicon Valley

Heller, Zoe. What Was She Thinking? Henry Holt and Company, 2003.

A lonely schoolteacher reveals more than she intends when she records the story of her best friend's affair with a pupil in this sly, insightful novel. Schoolteacher Barbara Covett has led a solitary existence; aside from her cat, Portia, she has few friends and no intimates. When Sheba Hart joins St. George's as the new art teacher, Barbara senses the possibility of a new friendship. It begins with lunches and continues with regular invitations to meals with Sheba's seemingly close-knit family. But as Barbara and Sheba's relationship develops, another does as well: Sheba has begun a passionate affair with an underage male student. When it comes to light and Sheba falls prey to the inevitable media circus, Barbara decides to write an account in her friend's defense - an account that reveals not only Sheba's secrets but her own. What Was She Thinking? is a story of repression and passion, envy and complacence, friendship and loneliness. A complex psychological portrait framed as a wicked satire, it is by turns funny, poignant, and sinister.

Movie: Notes on a Scandal. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2007

Starring Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy.